Ibiden, the dominant supplier of IC package substrates to NVIDIA and Intel, has announced a massive $3.2 billion investment plan over three years to boost production capacity 2.5x. Discover how this Japanese manufacturer in Gifu Prefecture is positioning itself as the backbone of the global AI infrastructure boom.
Google's parent company Alphabet shattered records with $400 billion in annual revenue for fiscal 2025, fueled by explosive AI growth. Google Cloud surged 48% while Gemini hit 750 million monthly users. Meanwhile, Japan's corporate AI adoption rate sits at just 27%, revealing a widening gap with global competitors. From massive data center investments in Japan to the structural challenges holding Japanese businesses back, here's what Alphabet's AI dominance means for the world's third-largest economy.
As TSMC exits GaN foundry services, Japan's Rohm acquires TSMC's technology license to manufacture 650V GaN power semiconductors in-house at its Hamamatsu factory. A deep dive into the next-generation power chips reshaping the AI and EV era.
French automotive giant Valeo and Japanese test & measurement leader Anritsu have jointly developed a digital twin verification environment for next-generation SDVs. The cloud-based solution eliminates the need for physical vehicles or test tracks, enabling comprehensive virtual testing of connected car systems. Joint demo to debut at MWC 2026.
Kyoto-based precision instrument maker HORIBA has acquired Indian startup Pristine Deeptech to accelerate diamond wafer commercialization. Diamond is called the "ultimate semiconductor material" with properties far surpassing silicon. Learn about HORIBA's strategy to build an R&D hub in India for next-generation power semiconductors and quantum sensors.
Nagano-based IT company TOSYS has launched Japan's first commercial container data center featuring both water-cooling and liquid immersion cooling. Deployable in as little as 3 months, powered by renewable energy, and with plans for perovskite solar panels, this regional initiative is redefining Japan's data center strategy for the AI era.
In a survey of 312 neuroscientists, the median estimated probability that long-term memories could be decoded from a brain preserved after death was 41%. Could whole brain emulation (WBE) ever deliver digital immortality? From engrams and connectomes to the hard problem of consciousness, here is what the science says and where it stops.
A research team at Osaka University's QIQB has proposed a scalable photonic routing architecture for ion trap quantum computers. By comparing two multi-wavelength laser delivery methods, they demonstrated a path to controlling hundreds to thousands of qubits on a single chip—potentially reshaping the future of trapped-ion quantum computing.
Denmark-born food waste reduction app "Too Good To Go" launched in Japan on January 28, 2026, marking its first expansion into Asia. With over 500 million meals saved across 21 countries, the "Surprise Bag" model now partners with 80+ stores including FamilyMart and Krispy Kreme in Tokyo. Learn how this win-win-win system benefits consumers, businesses, and the environment while fighting food waste.
Hiroshima University and Phenitec Semiconductor achieved the world's first SiC integrated circuit prototype production in a commercial fab. This revolutionary semiconductor technology operates at 500°C and under high radiation, enabling applications in extreme environments like Venus surface exploration and Fukushima nuclear decommissioning—expanding humanity's frontier through Japanese innovation.
At CES 2026 Bosch demonstrated sensors that give robots a delicate sense of touch, combining its BMP585 pressure sensor with an inertial measurement unit so that even the brush of a feather is detected. A look at the frontier of humanoid touch and a MEMS sensor market projected to reach 19.2 billion dollars by 2030.